Quick Nut And Bolt Question

[Dajudge]

I have gotten a little time the last two Sundays to start taking the truck apart.  Some things come right off and some not so much.  My question is with the exception of the $90 bolts that hold the rear fenders on, are there any others that I should stress over getting off? Kaitlyn will be 40 by the time I get this thing apart at this rate.  I have some that would be much easier to just cut then fight with.  And since this whole thing seems to be built with everyday nuts and bolts that will probably get replaced anyway I though I might just cut the trouble makers.

 

Lastly, has anybody put a nut and bolt guide together?  So one could just order up a box of these and a box of that from someone like McMaster Car.

 

Thanks

Andy

[P15-D24]

What $90 dollar bolts are your talking about?  Check the factory parts book if you want a accurate nut & bolt guide. 

[Dajudge]

These:

 

http://mopar.pairserver.com/p15d24ph_forum/topic/23863-fender-bolts/

 

I was simply asking if someone may have already done the leg work on the bolt count before I took the time.  That was all.  Thanks.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Dajudge

[HanksB3B]

I doubt if anyone really took inventory during disassembly but. pictures and plastic bags sure help.  As you can see all the hardware I salvaged was cad plated. I think I have 4 boxes that look like this. It used to cost $40 for a gallon of parts now due to EPA it's about triple that.  My best suggestion is to have all original bolts either professionally processed or if you have a friend or shop that will let you use an electrostatic cleaner and a spray can will protect what you salvage.  I did not reuse with the exception of a few specialty i.e oil pan bolts, inner fender guard or show pieces where the DCPD logos make a difference. A True Value hardware store catering to truckers and longshore type workers had bin after bin of top quality stainless steel fasteners it was not super expensive.  I'd say all in all I probably spent less than $200 and wherever I could I found the new SS fasteners easier to work with and better appearing. My advice is to concentrate on photos and documentation during the disassembly process. You think you'll remember but re-assembly might be a couple/few years away.  Trust me you won't remember. 

 

 

Hank 

 

Edited June 17, 2013 by HanksB3B

[Desotodav]

I had two containers (just like Hank's) full of cad-plated stuff. I reused all the original nuts/bolts/clips etc. that I could, but had to install a number of new cad-plated bolts also. IMHO cad plating them is better than painting them as the paint seems to chip off as soon as you put a spanner to them and rust starts to build.

I recall Mark saying that the bolts to the lower rear of the front guards were valuable also - I'm sure that Mark can confirm that. I don't recall any other nuts or bolts being particularly special.

Best to do as Hank said and put all that you take off the truck into marked clip-sealed plastic bags to make the re-assembly job easier.

[pflaming]

After building the truck and forever looking for the correct bolt or screw, on this convertible, whenever I remove a fastener, I clean it on a wire wheel on my bench grinder, run a tap through the threads in the hole and REPLACE the fastener. If I want a fancy fastener later, I can always opt for that but I no longer look for fasteners. Some of them are very subtly different so it takes a very careful documentation system to keep them identified. 

 

When I find one that is very stubborn, I use a ;method my father taught me decades ago on the farm. Take a center punch and a good hammer. Give the bolt in question a couple of good SHARP raps. That drives the bolt in, will not damage the threads but does disturb the set. 

 

Just another method, not a perfect one, but one that works for me.

[ggdad1951]

For FEF I pretty much did as everyone esle did, used a TON of zip lock baggies a marker and a camera.  I'd also suggest a list of the bolts on a piece of paper/spreadsheet for when you get something back from plating/painting. 

 

Hard to find bolts/fasteners in my mind are and why:

front bumper bolts: have the logo

rear fender bolts: hard to remove, replacements are spendy

inner fender to outter fender bolts: ACME thread and impossible to source new ones

floor board bolts: same as above

spare tire carrier hardware: hard to find OS but I know there is a repop set out there 

firewall push buttons: no repops out there, I picked a bunch and cleaned them up

square washers: replace ALL of them, once cracked they do NO good, replacements available from McMaster but $$$

tail gate and head board bolts: logo bolts

large bed bolts: these are NOT standard carriage bolts, Midwest Military MIGHT have some repops left, but you will have to weld a length on, their long ones are gone

head bolts: OS ones are spendy and have a way different look than modern

 

that'd be my list off the top of my head

[desoto1939]

The other question that you have not answered is if you are restoring the car/truck to be judged eithe WPC Walter P Chrysler, POC, Plymouth Owners Club, AACA Antique Autombile Car Assoction standards or are you just trying to make it a drivers vehicle that looks nice and meets your standards.

 

If you are going for jusding and points then you will need to keep allthe original bolts and have then cad plated to look original. If you are making a driver then do what you want and fits your pocketbook for expenses.

 

Goin to full restoration with original bolts that have the DPC logo is great but costly also.

 

It all up to what you plan for the car or truck. If you are planing on judgeing then I suggest that you get the jidgin manual for each orgainzation so you know what they are looking for in a vehicle before you go to your first meet and fined out that you have to redoe everything over agian with additional cost to find the missing part.  Also note that they all willnot tell you what you did wrong that is up to you to find out.

Welcome to the world of having a vehicle judged.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

[Don Coatney]

I know that all the judges at these meets have a set of guidelines to follow but I wonder if any two judges judge the same? I have seen car owners almost come to blows when given the judges decision at some of these meets. They argue that there car was judged as a #1 at some show and wonder why it is a #2 at a different show. Such is the world of judged car shows. To me this takes away the fun factor but to each his own.

[Young Ed]

I have personally judged at a few POC meets and I don't recall ever checking for proper bolts. That is as long as they look the same as what would have been there you're ok. Now if you've got torx or something more modern looking you might get hit. Also phillips screws I believe before 39 is another hit.

[Dajudge]

Thank guys. Not doing a points show car. It is my daughters truck and we are just looking for a fun ride. I am just interested in fasteners. Thanks for the tips on the DPC bolts. I'll watch for those. I am basically just looking to hold the truck together. I figure a 16 year old girl driving the truck will be enough of a show.

[HanksB3B]

 IMHO cad plating them is better than painting them as the paint seems to chip off as soon as you put a spanner to them and rust starts to build.

 

I definitely agree DesotoDave, but if you don't know what you are going to reuse a light midst of paint, or in a bucket with some oil is a less expensive way and a way not to save the cost of cad plating something you won't be using. I'm not sorry to have all the extra original fasterens cad plating and just sitting pretty in a box.  I have sold some of it or had that extra one bolt someone needed.

 

Hank 

[Merle Coggins]

If you don't need complete originality on your fender bolts, you can go with the Mar-K version.

 

$38.50 for a kit with 14 fasteners in zinc plated steel. http://www.mar-k.com/Catalog/catalog.aspx

[Young Ed]

For FEF I pretty much did as everyone esle did, used a TON of zip lock baggies a marker and a camera.  I'd also suggest a list of the bolts on a piece of paper/spreadsheet for when you get something back from plating/painting. 

 

Hard to find bolts/fasteners in my mind are and why:

front bumper bolts: have the logo

rear fender bolts: hard to remove, replacements are spendy

inner fender to outter fender bolts: ACME thread and impossible to source new ones

floor board bolts: same as above

spare tire carrier hardware: hard to find OS but I know there is a repop set out there 

firewall push buttons: no repops out there, I picked a bunch and cleaned them up

square washers: replace ALL of them, once cracked they do NO good, replacements available from McMaster but $$$

tail gate and head board bolts: logo bolts

large bed bolts: these are NOT standard carriage bolts, Midwest Military MIGHT have some repops left, but you will have to weld a length on, their long ones are gone

head bolts: OS ones are spendy and have a way different look than modern

 

that'd be my list off the top of my head

On my truck some of the door hardware are #12 screws which aren't impossible to find but its an odd size that not many places carry.

[Plymouthy Adams]

some 12's on the cars also..I had missing dash hardware and was able to secure these locally at the hardware store but size and head styles are limited..even Rest. Spec. skips over this size in their catalog...

[Dajudge]

Thanks guys.  The couple that prompted my question came off with a little more muscle.  The truck looks like a street rod now.  Inner and outer fenders are off as is the hood.  Just the front panel left on the front end.

[Scruffy49]

Save yourself a lot of headaches, driver grade should get stainless or bronze fasteners. I'm saving all the acme thread bolts from my 49 just to have them available for the restoration types, saving the clips for them too. All the other factory non-stressed hardware is going stainless. Chassis hardware will get either grade 5 or grade 8 equivalent hardened stainless. I only want to fight the truck one time, any further tear downs should be much easier.

 

Now if there was just a way to deep six the goofy single sided spring shackles in favor of a more modern greaseless design... the cost for new factory style shackles is ridiculous, my truck, even with its sentimental value, isn't worth that much money...

 

Any factory stuff that comes off clean and is not going back on should be offered to the forum at large in the classified section. That includes the tire spoon, jack, etc if you think your daughter won't use them. Since I'm switching from a 48 engine to a 56 or 57 engine, I'll even be disposing of the hand crank assembly (found a center section in the garage).

Edited June 22, 2013 by Scruffy49